Heel lift or rand.



L. H. SHAW.

HEEL LIFT 0R RAND.

APPLlc/mou FILED mm1. 191s.

Patented July 13, 1915.

l #auf www? oww/ey@ LINUS H. SHAW, OF BROCKTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

HEEL LIFT l0E RAND.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patenteauuly 13, 1915.

Application filed January 21, 1915. v Serial No. 3,473.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, LINUS II. SHAW, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Brockton, in the county of Plymouth and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in I-Ieel Lifts or Bands, of which the following is a specication. 1

The present invention relates to a heel lift, and its obj ect is to provide a lift which may serve the purposes, either wholly or in part, of the rand which is ordinarily applied to that side of a heel which lies next to the bottom of the shoe to which the heel is applied. l

Further objects of the invention and the advantages thereof, and the way the invention is carried into practice are set forth at length in the following description, in connection with the drawing which forms a part of the same. y

In the drawing, Figure l is a plan view of a form of lift embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the lift showing the same in its distended condition. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal central section of the lift in the form shown in Fig. l and Fig.. 4 is a similar section of the lift in the condition shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a plan viewof a modification.

As a preliminary to describing the present invention I will briefly describe the conditions which -have'led to' its development.

As is well known the bottom of a shoe is convex at the heel in order to fit the heel of Vthe wearers foot, and this convexity is very -a rand to the edge of the heel, and `some times by gouging out the central part of the heel incases where an especially deep cup is required, or where it is desired to avoid the use of a rand. .Various-causes, which it is unnecessary to relate here, have made the supply of material suitable for randsinsufficient for the demand, the result being that the price of good rand material has advanced to a high gure, which is prohibitive for many grades of Shoes. Some manufacturers have attempted to avoid the use of rands and also to save the waste of material -due to gouging out the cup of the heel, by

cause of spoiling the t of the shoe, causing the weight of the wearers heel to be concentrated on the center instead of being Supported over the entire bottom of his heel, as it should be.

My invention is designed to provide an article which is partly a lift and partly a rand, vwhich can be produced from stock unsuitable for rands of the usual construction, and which when applied to a heel enables theheel to be formed with a cup as deep as necessary, without either making the center of the heel too dense and the peripheral portions insufficiently dense or requiring part of the material to lbe cut away, as in gouging. In producing my invention I cut materialswhich is sufliciently tough, flexible, and compressible, a piece a which may have the outline somewhat as shown in Fig.- 1, ywhich is generally that of a heel, but narrower than the heel forwhich the lift is intended,lthe length of the piece being approximately equalto the length, from breast to back, of the 'heel for which the piece is intended. This piece is partially divided, either in theoperation of dieing, or subsequently, on a line which extends from the point I) at the centervof the breast edge of the piece, to a point c near the rear` edge, so that the piece a is partially subdivided into two members which are integrally connected together by the material between the end c of the cutfand the rear edge of the heel. This cut which divides the piece is zigzag between the points d and e, passing back and forth acrossthe centerline of the piece and forming interleavedI tongues 721;, j",

lout of leather, leatherboard,`or any other sides or members of the piece. The line of lthe cutbetween the points l and b' is straight Ithe compressing operation.

and lnear the middle line of the piece, and the stock on each side of this line is beveled from a thin edge 7L. at the line to the full thickness of the piece near the outer edges thereof.

The subdividing cut allows the members of the piece to be drawn apart, such members then bending at the narrow connecting tongue left at the rear, and also bending somewhat on the narrow p arts between the periphery of the piece and the points of the zigzag cut. This `allows the width between the outer edges of the piece to be made as great as that of the heel with which the piece is to be used, and the drawing apart of the tongues j' and g leaves open spaces in the centralv tively.

More of the tongues than the two here shown may be employed to lock the piece in its distended condition, or on the other hand one alone may be employed for the purpose. I find, however, that in practice two are sufficient for this purpose and also that two are more efficient than one, and that the tongues which most efficiently perform the locking function are those which are here shown as employed for that purpose. The spreading apart of the sides of the piece swings the points of the tongues forwardly, whereby they automatically slip into the notches and engage the shoulders provided as shown, and their natural stiffness retains them in locking engagement, wherefore it is unnecessary when spreading open the piece to place the locking tongues in engagement with the coperating shoulders, nor to take care that they remain in such engagement after the piece has been spread open.

The piece is applied to the seating face of the heel in its distended condition. The open spaces left in the central part of the heel between the interleaved tongues gives room for the spreading out laterally of the tongues in the crushing eifect produced by Thus a heel having one of these lifts on its seating face, when compressed between the dies ordinarily used for the purpose will have greater compressibility in the central part than at the periphery and may be so compressed as to form a deep cup without making the central part too dense and hard or leaving the peripheral part too soft and insuliiciently condensed. If an exceptionally deep cup is required a rand may be laid on the peripheral part of the lift a., or two such lifts may be employed without any rand.

Among the advantages derived from my g invention may be named the following.

(l) The lift or piece can be cut from a piece of leather or other material not sup-fiiciently large either to furnish a complete heel lift or to furnish a rand of the proper form. A lrand of the sort heretofore used must have peripheral. length as great as the entire periphery of the heel exclusive of the breast line, and whenv cut from a side of leather or sheet of other stock, is cut in as nearly a straight strip as possible in order that it may be divided into two wedge shaped strips, each capable of being bent to the curvature of the heel. In cutting heel lifts from leather and other sheet material many scraps are left from which it is impossible to maire a strip long enough and straight enough to be used as a rand, or which are wide enough for a complete lift, and out of such scraps pieces of the sort here shown may be made. It is not essential that the piece should have as great width as here illustrated, for it may be made narrower if desired and may be conformed to the heel by simply spreading its sides somewhat more widely apart. rlhe tongues in any case perform the function of holding the sides apart in essentially the manner shown.

rlhe use of my lift enables heels with deep cups to be made without requiring gouging out of any of the material and thus saves the material which is wasted in the gouging operation.

I rlhe heel containing my lift can be compressed to form the cup without confining the pressure entirely or to an objectionable degree to the central part of the heel.

The particular form and arrangement of the dividing cut and of the tongues formed thereby, herein illustrated, are shown merely for the purpose of illustration to represent an operative embodiment 0f the invention and are without limiting significance, A. lift or piece cut with any outline and having an intermediate dividing cut of any configuration, providing the outline permits the piece to be spread apart to the width of the heel, and the dividing cut forms locking members 0r braces to hold the sides in the spread apart condition, is within the view of my invention. It will therefore be apparent that any' configuration of the interleaved tongues which accomplishes the desired result of holding the sides of the lift spread apart, whether by the positive action of an abrupt abutment or shoulder, or by friction, is within the scope of the invention. The tongues may be given any form and may be caused to extend in any direction desired, all within the scope of this invention, lby appropriately modifying the outline of the dividing cut.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A heel lift comprising a piece narrower in width than the heel for which it is de signed, and being sub-divided from its breast to a point near its rear edge on a line which is laterally offset so as to :form a brace and a part to coperate therewith.

2. A heel lift or rand consisting of a piece having a peripheral form generally similar to that of a heel and an extent, exclusive of the breast, equal to the peripheral extent, also exclusive of the breast, of the heel with which the lift is to be used, said lift having an intermediate cut extending from one end to a point near the opposite end, and off-set between its ends to form a laterally extending brace and a complemental shoulder, adapted to permit the sides of the lift to be separated, and to hold them in separated position.

3. A heel lift or rand comprising a piece having a curved outline of less width than the heel for which it is designed and having an intermediate longitudinally extending cut dividing the piece into two side members which are integrally connected at the rear end of the piece, said dividing cut being offset at an intermediate point so as to provide a lateral tongue extending from one of said side members into a corresponding recess in the other side member, andthe cut being further locally o's'et to provide a shoulder at the side of said tongue away :from the point at which said members are connected together.

4. A heel lift or rand comprising a piece said tongue may abut when they side members are spread apart. l

5. A heel lift comprising a piece of less width than the heel in which it is designed to be used, said piece being partially subdivided by a zigzag cut extending from the breast toward the rear end and so oiset as to form interleaved tongues, adapted to be drawn apart and formed to coperate in holding the piece vdistended to a greater width than its original width.

6. A heel lift comprising a piece partially sub-divided by a cut extending from the breast end to a point near the rear end and being laterally ofset'to form a tongue on one of the subdivisions of the piece and a complemental socket in the other subdivision, said tongue and socket being so formed as to permit spreading apart of the sides of the `piece and engagement of the tongue with a part of the socket in such a manner as to hold the piece in the spread condition.

In testimony whereof I have ailixed my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

LINUS II. SHAW. Witnesses:

ARTHUR H. BROWN, P. W. PEZZETTI.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. C. 

